DA: Drug-smuggling claims unfounded

Investigators have not substantiated claims that a local attorney was smuggling drugs to an inmate at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility, Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said Tuesday.

After a female inmate tested positive for controlled substances in December, detectives interviewed a relative of the woman who made allegations of drug-smuggling and investigated "rumors" that a local attorney was involved in providing the drugs, Salavantis said in a statement.

Afterward, the inmate's cell was repeatedly searched for drugs, but none were found, and she later tested negative in further drug tests, the district attorney said. Additionally, authorities beefed up security and conducted surveillance during the attorney's visits to the jail, Salavantis said.

The inmate, whose name was not released, never made any allegations about the attorney, she said.

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